NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS & DEVICES

After receiving his doctorate from the University of Maryland at College Park, Nikhil Koratkar joined the faculty of the Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in January 2001 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2005 and to Full Professor in 2008.

Professor Koratkar's research interests are focused on graphene and carbon nanotube synthesis and their integration into multi-scale structural systems such as polymer based composites. His group also works on the fabrication and patterning of metal and Si based nanostructures by oblique angle deposition and their application in energy conversion devices such as Li-Ion batteries, fuel cells and solar cells.

Other areas of resrearch include development of nanoscale devices such as sensors, actuators and membranes. Koratkar's group is also actively engaged in understanding wetting phenomena at the micro and nanoscales and in the development of super-hydrophobic/super-hydrophilic surfaces and phase change phenomena at the micro and nanoscales.

Selected Publications

Selected Media Hits

NATURE: Carbon nanotubes
for gas sensing
NATURE News
SMALL: Copper nanorods
enhance nucleate boiling
New York Times
NATURE MATERIALS: Energy
dissipation in nano-composites
National Science Foundation
NANO LETTERS: Carbon
nanotube membranes
Wikipedia
SMALL: Fatigue resistant
nano-composites
Times Union